Metalcasting by 3D Printer
Published on in 3D Printing
Starting at the End
I used 3D printing to create a pendant for a friend. The steps I took are below. However, I’m so excited about the end product that I wanted to start by showing it off.
The Adventure Begins
On a whim, I asked a friend to give me an idea for something to 3D print. She’s a huge fan of Garth Nix’s Abhorsen series and admires the Clayr. She suggested creating a pendant based on their sigil. After a couple hours work, I had this:
From here, I started thinking about how nice it would be to have this in metal - to make it into a proper pendant that she could wear. After quite a bit of looking online, I settled on trying to cast it in a low-melting point alloy. These are usually used in thermal fail-safes in industrial machinery, rapid prototyping or die-casting.
Many of these alloys contain lead - obviously an issue for something that is to be worn. The most prominent non-toxic option is Field’s Metal. However, that stuff is EXPENSIVE. …